Copyright for Faculty: Overview

News

The College Art Association has published the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, a set of principles addressing best practices in the fair use of copyrighted materials based on a consensus of opinion developed through discussions with visual-arts professionals. It will be a vital resource for everyone working in the field, including artists, art historians, museum professionals, librarians, and editors. The Code describes the relevance of fair use in five broad areas of the visual arts field: analytic writing, teaching about art, making art, museum and library uses, and online access to archival and special collections.

The Basics

Although you may be the original author of a good deal of your course material, it is very likely that you have also included the works of others, such as written materials, graphs, photographs, images, drawings, illustrations, music, sound recordings, and audiovisual works, including films.

Can you use these works in your courses without having to obtain permission from the copyright holder?That's the critical question and the answer is rarely easy or uncomplicated, because:

Everything is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it is 'fixed' in a tangible medium;

Publication, registration, and a copyright notice are not necessary for copyright to attach;

An educational use does not automatically mean permission is unnecessary; neither does password-protecting a site or giving proper attribution.

As a faculty member you - not the institution, not the library - are responsible for determining whether permission is required for you to use the intellectual work of others in your courses. This responsibility applies to materials you use or distribute in the classroom, materials you place on reserve in the library, and materials you provide access to from any course web pages you create.